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  1. W

    Is rebirth good or a bad thing ?

    I didn't burrow into this at first because I was busy chasing down my missed attempt to share the correct episode of that podcast. But you raise a more important point. Life is inherently miraculous, turning back the second law of thermodynamics. Why shouldn't we embrace both ends of that...
  2. W

    The Purpose of Life, a biological perspective

    For anyone who’d like to h Thank you for taking the time to share so much more than I know about DNA and water. I know some but honestly it's not what gets me excited so much as the philsoophical implications. Between what you've written and what Ball has to say my eyes are spinning a bit...
  3. W

    The Purpose of Life, a biological perspective

    Thanks for the push back. Here is some for you. Are the questions which are beyond the remit of science out of reach for any other reason than our being able to formulate questions specific and testable enough for science to apply? Obviously I think it may be possible but for now all I can...
  4. W

    The Purpose of Life, a biological perspective

    If you don’t think agency, consciousness and intentionality arise biologically where do they come from? If they emerge from life why shouldn’t biology try to grapple with them?
  5. W

    The Purpose of Life, a biological perspective

    I’m quite experienced as an atheist but now I’m unlearning to see the world as nothing but matter in which our own internal perspective is suspect. Doesn’t mean I’m ripe for any old, off the rack god. But life clearly is animate and conscious .. some of it in the manner we are.
  6. W

    The Purpose of Life, a biological perspective

    Position relative to what? There are a lot of domains we fit into, don't you think? Unless you can be more specific I can't help you.
  7. W

    The Purpose of Life, a biological perspective

    It isn't about me and what I think. I am merely passing on how the question of purpose and agency comes up naturally in the study of biology provided we have our minds open and are persistent in following all the information as far as it goes. Who are you to demand of me or anyone else who I...
  8. W

    Is rebirth good or a bad thing ?

    @Balthazzar I seem to have selected the wrong episode of that blog. Here below is the one I was trying to offer. I don’t see why rebirth has to be about the preservation of one’s precious ego. E E Cummings is one of my favorite poets and he was a huge fan of rebirth but as a revitalization...
  9. W

    The Purpose of Life, a biological perspective

    For someone who doesn't come out of the sciences Phillip Ball's How Life Works: A User's Guide To The New Biology has done a great job of puling me in and along some pretty technical aspects of how life develops and persists. I'm finding the pay off as I cruise into Chapter 9: ‘Agency; How Life...
  10. W

    Is rebirth good or a bad thing ?

    I don’t see why rebirth has to be about the preservation of one’s precious ego. E E Cummings is one of my favorite poets and he was a huge fan of rebirth but as a revitalization within one’s lifespan. His father was a pastor in a Unitarian church and William James was a regular guest in their...
  11. W

    Panentheism

    I also identify most strongly with agnostic because I think I get so much more from recognizing just how little there is to be certain of where the depths of human nature are concerned. I find the food fight over which side is obliged to justify their POV (ie, their’claims’) and who is more...
  12. W

    If Jesus isn't the only way to come to God...

    Already taken and, as conventionally conceived,only concerned with the world, not life or consciousness.
  13. W

    If Jesus isn't the only way to come to God...

    I wonder what coursework would elicit such a comment. Do you remember the course name and what degree goal it served?
  14. W

    If Jesus isn't the only way to come to God...

    The word God is not important to me but I sense it is to you but I do think we need an unword for for whatever it is which has made our world, our being and our experience possible.
  15. W

    If Jesus isn't the only way to come to God...

    If you have so little faith in yourself you’re pretty much at the mercy of your ability to pick an expert out of a line up.
  16. W

    If Jesus isn't the only way to come to God...

    That depends on what we value and cultivate in our selves. GIGO
  17. W

    If Jesus isn't the only way to come to God...

    Oops, thank you spell check. I have no settled disbelief in the divine either, nor any disposition in favor of a biblical God. But of course I have beliefs including that life is good, love is possible and truth is knowable. My odd ball belief by modern standards is that reflection is...
  18. W

    If Jesus isn't the only way to come to God...

    In questions of values and taste, feeling is first.
  19. W

    Atheists believe in miracles more than believers

    It certainly can but I'm not sure that it is wise to expect it to always do so. Sometimes when we can't find the words it is better left unsaid. Like you I have a lot of confidence (whether deserved or not) in my chances of conveying insights with language. But as you've mentioned numerous...
  20. W

    If Jesus isn't the only way to come to God...

    Sure. Logic is simply the linking up of if-then statements to arrive at a desired conclusion. Whether you actually get there or not depends on starting with accurate premises and appropriately applied implications. Not a given. But the point is that the logic is just a formal (and empty)...
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